Virus
by Kirrithian
Summary: The team get trapped inside a mysterious computer game, but can they find out what's running it before it's too late?
1. Prologue

Riing ring… riing ring… riing ring…

_Riing ring… riing ring… riing ring…_

Thump. Gwen looked at the clock on her bedside table, then at her mobile on the floor. Black letters lit up the screen. Torchwood.

"Oh fuck." She scrabbled out of bed and started pulling clothes on. Rhys sat up and watched her.

"You don't have to go Gwen- and you know what I said about keeping that mobile on for him overnight." Gwen looked at him pointedly.

"You said he said that the night shift can cope with any problems. And anyway, that's the third night in a row that my sleep has been interrupted. Doesn't your Captain understand the concept of the weekend being a time of rest?"

Gwen smiled and perched next to him.

"Living as long as he has? I wouldn't be surprised" she pecked him on the head, before turning and speeding out the door with a brief wave "Bye" the mobile went off again. "Yeah, yeah I'm on my way"

Rhys watched the woman he loved head out the door. His wife. He was happy, apart from that one constant problem- her job. Torchwood. Chasing dangerous aliens through the streets of Cardiff to protect its' inhabitants. A high risk job, and though Rhys didn't admit it, he barely slept when she was out on the job, fearful of what might happen to her…

The other problem was her boss, that Captain Jack. Rhys suspected that Jack had a small thing for his wife, and the fact that Jack was certainly the better looking out of the two of them unnerved him.

He rolled over, checking the clock. 3:05! Jack should know better than to call at this time in the morning. If it happened once more he would take that phone and shove it right up Jack's…

Alarms sounded as the cog wheel that served as Torchwoods front door ground back, and Gwen jumped up the stairs into the Hub

"Hello?"

Only echo's replied, no one popping their head up to acknowledge her presence. She sighed and went back towards the entrance, to head to the SUV.

Actually…

She paused and turned around, heading over to her desk- she could just check the CTV to see if they had already left. Although it would be odd if they had, as they would normally tell her where they were going. Ah well.

She sat down and looked at her computer.

Hang on. That shouldn't be doing that. What idiot had turned the thing on? She sighed and looked at the back, seeing the new cable running from it. Upgrades. Well they could have least given her some warning. She logged in, fingers speeding across the keyboard. She waited for it to load up, then a pop up appeared. She closed it. It didn't and she tried again. It still wouldn't close. She had a closer look at it. It said in gold/ bronze letters Greenland Wind RPG. She shrugged and tried to close it again, before realising what the problem was.

She couldn't move.

Glancing down at the mouse she noted that it was covered in pale silvery white strands that had nearly completely covered her. She tried to call out, but couldn't. She couldn't do anything but watch as the game loaded up. As the menu flashed up she could only watch as the mouse scrolled with it's own mind to New Game.

There was a click, and everything went black


	2. Chapter 1: the Tavern

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of the related characters sniff

_Thank you for reviews so far_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter_

* * *

_Name: Owen Harper_

**Yeh that's me: why am I here? Hello?**

_Age: N/A_

**Good and you can keep it that way!**

_Age: 40_

**OI!**

_Race: Human/ Undead_

**Fair enough- but what's with these red eyes?**

_Class: Healer_

Owen just raised his eyebrows, before his avatar swirls around, hands in his pockets and looking very grumpy. He had been stuck there for the last ½ hour or so, and was beginning to get bored.

_Skills…_

He perked up. This would be the interesting bit

_Immune to: Fire, Ice, Acid, Disease. Sonic 50 reduced. Weapons skills: Martial & exotic. _

**Weapons skills? That's not good**

_Starting Hp: 100_

**I hope that's the one that gets bigger**

_Starting spells: Healing 50, healing 100, antidote & summon light_

**Magical (!)**

_Starting Items: Leather armour, Staff_

**I don't suppose that there's an equip option around here somewhere?** Owen blinked at a small electric shock and looked down to find the armour and staff equipped

_Starting Gold: 50_

**Money, money, money… **

_WIS: 15_

_STR: 20_

_END: 18_

_SPD: 21_

_DEX: 13_

_Luck: 13_

**Only 13 on dexterity?! Are you trying to tell me I'm stiff? What now?**

**Is that it?** Owen looked around for anything else, before a bright light transported him to another place.

A tavern to be precise. He looked around before walking over and sitting down next to a familiar figure, if slightly odd looking in his bright armour.

"Hullo Jack, any idea what the hell is happening?"

"We're in the game" He looked at Owen. "Nice beard by the way- goes with the staff" Owen glared at Jack.

"Thanks (!) Do you know why we are in the game?"

"No"

"Any ideas on how to get out of here?"

"No"

"Great so we're stuck in this role-play game, me a healer and you a Fighter..."

"Paladin"

"Whatever. And no one knows we're here. Fun."

"Well actually I know you're here"

Owen looked up and stared at the new character

"That bad eh? Jack, Owen put those tongues in before I use this" she shook her longbow threateningly. Jack regained his composure first.

"Wow! Hang on a mo, how did you get to become an elf?"

Gwen shrugged.

"No idea- anyway I'm only half elf, and I rally hope this blonde hair isn't permanent"

Owen blinked once or twice, dragging his eyes back up.

"Nice leather." Owen frowned and compared himself height wise with Gwen. He frowned. "Where you always this tall? Or have I just shrunk?"

"Owen you were always that short, now focus- we need to try and get out of here, now we're somewhere"

"Owen trust me, you haven't shrunk as much as I have."

They looked around for Ianto himself to attach to the voice, but couldn't see him until he climbed into view on one of the seats, half his normal size. They all made a determined effort not to laugh at his childlike size, and ridiculous black leather armour, spotted with various lock picks and a short sword. They failed and the gales of laughter broke out like a dam bursting.

"Actually he looks kind of sweet." Gwen pointed out when the laughter had died down.

"Sweet but not innocent" Jack wiped the smile off his face and settled back into serious mode. "Why did you install the game and whilst you tell us that distribute the gold you 'gained' from your practise" Ianto opened his mouth in protest, before closing it and pulling out a pouch of gold and handing it to Jack.

"We're in a game called Greenland Wind. It's the latest role-play computer game. I'd got it down at the local store and as I was on the nightshift and everything was quiet, I installed it"

"We installed it remember- I also wanted to try it out, I mean, when you're dead I found computer games a great way to pass the time I would have slept in"

"Anyway, I had a practise, got the hang of it then Owen came over and we tried the multiplayer- and the was this silvery stuff a click and then I was in here."

Jack leaned back thinking.

"And I was working at my computer whilst…" Jack was cut off mid sentence as the door to the tavern banged open, revealing the medieval village being buried under an ever increasing pile of snow. The figure held scraps of what might have once been a cloak, now ripped and bloodstained. He lifted his hand up and looked as if to speak before collapsing and dying. The howl of wolves echoed through the door.

"You three stay here, I'll deal with the wolves- you look after the guy" and with that Jack readied his sword and headed out, slamming the door shut behind him. Owen looked back at the guy who had stumbled in.

But he had gone.

* * *

Thank you for reading (and you know that all reviews are welcome)


	3. Chapter 2: the Idea

Disclaimer: I still don't and probably never will own torchwood or any of the related characters

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my work so far (you know who you are)

Don't worry I haven't forgotten about Toshiko

Please read and enjoy!

* * *

"Yeah they tend to do that" Ianto pointed out "I don't think the games have built in cleaning equipment for its characters somehow" they continued to look at the floor where the character died

"Still pretty weird though" the others nodded in agreement, before wandering back to their table.

They sat quietly listening to the howl of the increasing wind, and yelps of the wolves Jack was terrorizing outside. They shuffled a bit, uneasy at the silence between them.

"What now?"

A particularly loud yelp from a wolf that was quickly cut off barged through Iantos comment

"Well I can't help Jack in that wind- my arrows would go off course" Gwen burst out

"And I'd just disappear under the snow" Added Ianto

"Well, healing magic isn't much use against wolves is it? And I don't think just giving them a headache would help" the others murmured in agreement.

"So… what's your character like?"

"Me?" Gwen replied "Well, we could take a look at my character page"

There was a slight electrical fizz and they could see Gwen's Stats.

_Name: Gwen Williams_

**See- it even took into account my ring- quite smart **

_Age: 23_

_Race: Human/ Elf_

**I was slightly confused at that, but then it does make sense with my good looks (groans from the other two) what?!**

_Class: Ranger_

_Skill: Immune to sleep. Resist magic 50. Night vision +50. Animal friend,_

_Weapons skills: Martial, ranged, light armour, Heavy armour penalty -10 _

**In a nutshell that means that I can shoot things and hack at stuff but if I wear heavy armour it slows me down. **

**Ianto: yup that's just about right**

_Hp: 100_

**Owen: snap**

_Spells: Summon wolf _

**Ianto: Ok- I don't want to mess with you**

_Inventory: Leather armour, short sword, Longbow, arrows: 99 _

_Gold: 75_

**Owen: how come you got more than I did to start off with?**

**Ianto: different classes and races, different equipment and traits**

**I wouldn't complain Owen- it might save your life **

_WIS: 14_

_STR: 14_

_END: 14_

_SPD: 23_

_DEX: 20_

_Luck: 15_

**Ianto: not bad- looks like you strong points are speed and flexibility**

**Yeah- close**

There was another electrical tingle and they returned to the tavern. Owen looked troubled.

"Gwen, you said it might save my life- do you think it might be in any actual danger?"

Gwen opened her mouth. Oh god she thought, as realisation of what Owen was thinking about hit her.

"I meant as your character in the game, but now…"

"Does the health of our characters affect our own health?"

"Good question" they looked up at Jack. "Unfortunately one I can't answer from here"

"What, The Game?"

"No the privy (!) Of course I mean from inside the game"

"Well how are we gonna get out the game then?"

Jack looked at Owen

"I don't know, does anyone have any bright ideas?"

"_Come here, I need to talk"_

The Team looked at Jack silently. Obviously no ideas coming from there then.

"_Come here, I need to talk"_

"Well…" Gwen spoke up "we could wait. See if it sorts itself out"

"_Come here I need to talk"_

Jack turned round and looked at the source of the voice- the Barkeep.

"Or we could play the game."

"What and try to beat it?"

Jack looked briefly over his shoulder at Owen

"Yeah"

"That's all well, but where do we start? I haven't done this much before you know" Ianto pointed out

Jack indicated toward the barkeep, which chose that moment to repeat his message.

"Oooh, subtitles" Owen commented appreciatively, watching the white text form above the character.

"That's where. Anyone want to go on a little quest…?"

* * *

Thanks for reading! And you know what I say about reviews (I appreciate every single one- good or bad)


	4. Chapter 3: the Quest

Disclaimer: I do not own torchwood and probably never will

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, Crazy Psycho Book Freak and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Next chapter here: I hope you enjoy it- _Kirric_

* * *

Barkeep: Thank the gods you're here! You saved this village from **the wolves**- Can we know the name of our saviours?

A box popped up

_Team Name: _

Jack looked at the others, who nodded.

"Torchwood"

_Team name: Torchwood_

Barkeep: Again thank you, Torchwood. You will always be welcome here in **Dalvine**

Talk topics:

**Dalvine**

**Latest Rumours**

**Rest **

**Services**

**snow**

**the wolves**

Jack: t**he wolves**

Barkeep: I don't know why they have come so far south this year, their **habitat** is much further north

Jack: **habitat**

Barkeep: **the wolves** live on the Green Plateau, to the north. I've never heard of them heading this far south until now. But the **weather** has been highly irregular

Jack: **weather**

Barkeep: **Dalvine** has always had good **weather** and crops. But this year it has got much rougher and we have even had **snow**

Jack: **snow**

Barkeep: I have never seen anything like it before! The caps of the gods themselves in our little village. Such a wonder!

Jack: **Dalvine**

Barkeep: **Dalvine** is a traditional village, situated to the south of the green plateau. **The Knuckles** are to the west, and the **Range of the gods** to the southwest and south. **The ocean** is to the east- but it is several days away. The trading road to **Llevic **passes through **The High Forest**, but it is dangerous

Jack: **Latest rumours**

Barkeep: **Old Henri** at **the Grove** has been acting rather strange of late- he was actually seen visiting **the temple**.

Jack: **Old Henri**

Barkeep: **Old Henri** is the village seer, and understands nature like no one else- they say he was taught by **the elves** themselves! Maybe he can tell you more about **the wolves**

Jack: **services**

Barkeep: **The temple **sells **spells** and can heal you, **Old Henri** sells ranged **weapons** and **light armour**- you can find him in **the Grove**. The village blacksmith is next door and the trader is between **the Grove** and **the temple**. Also you may find some items for sale at **The Hole**. And **the Inn** sells food, drink and you can **rent a room** for a day.

Jack: **The Temple**

Barkeep: **the temple** is the leading religion of the humans. They worship the gods and help fight evil. You can go there for healing. **Davline**'s Temple is just across from here.

Jack: **the Grove**

Barkeep: **the Grove **is a sacred temple of nature: it is on the edge of the forest and is marked by a standing stone. It is the traditional home of a town or villages seer. The seer of **Dalvine** is **Old Henri**

Jack: **The Hole**

Barkeep: It does no good to stay there to long. Too many of the wrong sort of people if you get me- It's a lucky soul that passes out of **the Hole** with their throat and purse intact

Jack: Goodbye

Barkeep: Farewell, may the gods guide your way

Jack turned and looked at the others.

"So…" Jack paused "What do you think? Stay here and die of boredom, or go and take a risk and play the game, where there is a small chance that we might be able to get out of here"

They pondered over it

"We don't know if our characters health affects our own health or even if playing the game will provide an escape route…" Ianto pointed out

"It would be quite a risk to take" added Owen

"Personally, I'd rather be doing something rather than nothing"

"Yeah"

"And then there's Tosh" They all looked at Jack "She might be able to help us somehow, tell us more about what's got us into here in the first place"

"But she won't come into the Hub until the morning"

"And she may not know how to help, if she can"

"Well, I'd put my trust in her" pointed out Gwen "And she may arrive at the hub sooner than you'd think- I was only there because I got a message on my phone"

The other three raised their eyebrows

"Well I don't think any of us sent anything, so it must have been whatever got us in the game" Ianto commented "It needed a fourth player, so it could start the game"

"Which indicates that it wants us to play the game"

They thought about it.

"Ok, hands up who wants to play the game." Jack counted the hands "1, 2, 3, 4 motion carried. We play the game. Owen go to the Temple and stock up on spells and health potions- Gwen you need to go and talk to Old Henri, I'll sort weapons and other items out and Ianto- You'll need to stock up on whatever equipment you think you need, and could you 'gain' some more funds for the team whilst you do that?. We'll meet by the well when we're done"

They nodded and headed out the door, each heading in a different direction, a different task. Working as an efficient team. As Torchwood.

The Hub was silent, alien machinery inert. Everything was asleep, and the figures of Ianto, Owen, Jack and Gwen where out of it, covered in a thin silvery material that glinted in the half light. In a corner a small piece of machinery beamed a message into space, it bouncing off a satellite, and heading down to try and be received by a phone that was solidly and resolutely, off.

* * *

Thank you for reading- and i wholely appreciate all reviews, good or bad

* * *


	5. Chapter 4: Slight things

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters (and unfortunately I get the feeling that this won't ever change, sadly)

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental. Anyway, creating my own RPG means I get total control of the plotline and it saves me the bother of making this whole thing into a crossover

Finally: I have a confession- I'm writing this story because personally I love it! I think it's one of my best fanfics yet and I love writing the torchwood characters and the game! It's great fun. Reviews don't matter to me, but I still appreciate every single one- I love this story so much, I'm averaging at a chapter a day, and I get the feeling that it won't slow down for a while. Whoo!

Anyway, 'nuf said- here's the next chapter!

* * *

They paced northwards, tight together. So far they had only encountered the occasional wild animal- a wolf or bear.

"Ianto?" Jack called into the wind. Ianto appeared suddenly at his side.

"Sorry about that- I was just getting some practise in" Jack frowned

"Yeah well, can I have my sword back? You're getting quite good at the whole rogue thing now, but can you avoid taking our weapons and armour- we might need them you know"

"Sorry if I can't do much else to level up" Ianto complained

"What can your rogue actually do?" Owen was bored- very little had happened since they had left Dalvine. They were heading up north to the plateau, to find out why the wolves had come down south that year. Unfortunately he had a suspicion that it involved going into the wolves' lair, on the west side of the plateau, according to the map given to them by Old Henri. It was still a few game hours walk away. He looked over with interest as Ianto called up his stats.

_Name: Ianto Jones_

_Age: 27_

_Race: Halfling _

_Class: Rogue_

_Skill: Hide, sneak, Pickpocket, disarm trap, charisma, locate trap, trap, lock pick, Identify object 10, night vision +50, _

_Weapons skills: Martial, Specialty: Short weapon, light armour, Heavy armour penalty -10 _

**Owen: Charisma?**

**It means I get better prices for equipment- I can buy it cheap and sell it dear**

_Hp: 100_

_Spells: Find Key, Telekinesis_

**Jack: Telekinesis is cheating**

**Are rogues meant to care about that? Anyway- I bought that spell**

_Inventory: rogue armour, short sword, lock pick, small shield _

_Gold: 575_

**Owen: your training went well then**

**I ran an errand for some of the guys at the Hole- they pay well there**

**Gwen: I don't think I want to know what the errand was**

**Jack: Methinks some redistribution of the gold is needed**

_WIS: 14_

_STR: 14_

_END: 16_

_SPD: 19_

_DEX: 18_

_Luck: 19_

**Nothing special here- just what is needed for my trade. Clo…**

**Jack: NO, wait- what's that over there?**

**Owen: someone hiding behind a bush?**

**Gwen: Chances they are friendly?**

**I think it's an ambush**

**Jack: how about ambushing the ambushers?**

**Owen: they would have seen us by now**

**Gwen: Me and Ianto could take them by surprise**

**Jack: No too dangerous- we just go through. Everyone ready for a fight as soon as we get back to the game. Ok? Ianto**

**5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Close**

They whipped their weapons to the ready, and Gwen fired a couple of arrows into the offending bush. 25, 10 floated up in red numbers from behind the bush, and the Bandits attacked. Owen twirled his staff, warding off the blows, whilst Gwen fired off arrow after arrow. Jacks Greatsword swung, cleaving through the attackers, and Ianto darted between their legs, hacking at them with his short sword. In nearly no time at all, the bandits had been dispatched, each leaving behind small loot of arrows or a few gold pieces.

They paused, looking at where the bandits had been. They needed to get used to this, killing people who weren't really alive to start off with. Jack bent down retrieving the items left by the ambushers and silently the others copied him.

They compared their spoils. None of them had been injured in the fight, but Owen looked excited.

"Can we have a short rest Jack?" Jack looked puzzled, but complied anyway.

LEVEL UP:

Owen Harper

+2 STR

+1 DEX

Skills: Dodge

Spells: Shield +1

+20 Hp

Captain Jack Harkness

+2 WIS

+1 STR

+1 Luck

Skills: Block, specialist: Greatsword

Ianto Jones

+2 DEX

+1 STR

Skills: Specialist pick pocket, Specialist charisma

+20 Hp

Gwen Williams

+3 END

+1 STR

Skills: Specialist Longbow

+20 Hp

"How could you tell Owen?"

"The rest button in the corner of the screen was flashing, which means you can level up when you next rest"

"Even I didn't know that and I've played the game- how did you know?" enquired Ianto

"Err I read the guidebook" They all looked at him in surprise "Hey I was bored!"

"It didn't say anything anywhere about a new virtual reality beyond anything that's ever been seen before?"

"Err no"

"Because that would have made everything just that little bit more simple- never mind- onwards and upwards" Jack Struck a heroic pose pointing up the hill, and started to head up it. The others sighed and followed, and they soon settled in the routine of eying the area around them for danger.

Up in a flat in Cardiff, Tosh lay in bed, very awake. She had a feeling that something was wrong. Call it woman's intuition, a sixth sense. She tried to go back to sleep but the feeling wouldn't go away. It nagged at her. She sighed and got up and ready. She could go down to the Hub and work on the latest rift report- Jack wouldn't mind. She picked up her phone and turned it on. She sighed- low battery. Even with alien technology, nothing was perfect. She'd just have to do without, she thought, plugging it into the charger, and heading out the door.

* * *

Thanks for reading- all reviews are wholly appreciated


	6. Chapter 5: Across the Plateau

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666 and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favirotes

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters (and unfortunately I get the feeling that this won't ever change)

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

Oh and I don't own Lord of the rings either

The next chapter is HERE!! Read and enjoy!

* * *

The team were on the plateau, enjoying the view.

"Finally" breathed Ianto

"What a view!" Owen gazed over the landscape below them, at the forest, the mountains and the sea.

"Yeah, but it's missing something" pointed out Gwen

"The touch of the wind"

"Freshness of the air"

"The crunch of the snow, and the smell of the grass"

"The warmth of the sun"

"The cry of the birds"

"The creak of the trees"

"It's is only a game after all. There's only a certain amount that can be programmed in." Jack said "Come on, the lair is this way"

"I can tell you what this game has got that our real life hasn't" they paused and looked at Owen. "A soundtrack"

They laughed and headed out in single file, across the plateau, dramatic adventurous music echoing around them.

"Heck It feels like we're in Lord of the Rings!" Jack looked around at Owen "You'd be Gandalf, I would be Aragon…"

"What about Boromir, Faramir or even that horse one, what's his name?"

"Eomer? Nah- I've got the right sort of sword for Aragon, and anyway the only other decent looking human is Faramir, and he almost died and went power crazy- almost went power crazy."

"I thought Boromir was quite good looking" added Gwen

"He died remember- something I can't do- and Aragon had longevity"

"I think we need to cross reference this with your game skills and reach an official decision" Ianto looked at Jack, imploring him to try and sort the confusion out before it turned into a full blown argument- Torchwood style

"Ok, ok- but I'm telling you I am most like Aragon"

_Name: Captain Jack Harkness_

_Age: N/A_

_Race: Demi-god/ Human_

**Owen: somehow I think that that class was made up specially for you Jack, like the undead race was made up for me. The game would be too easy if they were actual races**

_Class: Paladin_

_Skill: Holy attacks, lore master, +50 against magic_

_Weapons skills: Martial, Specialty: two-_ _handed weapons, medium armour, Heavy armour, block, specialist: Greatsword _

_Hp: 120_

_Spells: blinding light, blessing_

**Gwen: Blessing? What does that do then?**

**I haven't got a clue- I think it might boost all my stats and maybe does a bit of healing**

_Inventory: Steel plate, Greatsword, moderate potion of healing X3_

_Gold: 137_

_WIS: 22_

_STR: 20_

_END: 16_

_SPD: 15_

_DEX: 15_

_Luck: 16_

**Close**

"Ok you can be Aragon, but who am I then? I can't exactly be Legolas" conceded Gwen

Owen looked at her

"You're not even a fully elf either- does anyone think Gandalf would mind being Undead?"

"What about that dark haired elf Arwen? Part human part elf, a good fighter and bloody stubborn too. Good looking as well"

"Thank you Ianto"

"Yup she's pretty much exactly like you Gwen- ends up with the king of the crop as well" Jack smirked

"Doesn't she end up with… - don't you go getting any ideas' Mr Harkness!"

"Alas I need to prove my worthiness to your high manner, what nigh impossible task would you care to set me and my infinite skills to?" Jack gave Gwen a mock bow, and they all laughed.

"What about me?" Ianto put in. Jack eyed him up and down, which didn't take long.

"Well… you could be Frodo, being able to hide in the shadows and all that"

"But he doesn't have a magic ring to be all possessive about" Ianto opened his mouth at Gwen's comment

"What about Samwise?" Gwen looked at Owen

"He didn't go around stealing from people"

"But he could cook, and I recall the meals Ianto cooked were better than a lot of the stuff I'd tried before"

"Owen would 'stuff you tried before' consist of the meals you'd cooked yourself?"

"Well…"

"Enough said" Gwen concluded

"Sam is probably the best character for me, then"

"I'll say" Jack looked at Ianto and smiled. Then he turned and kept walking imitating a narrators booming voice. "And the four adventures headed across the grand plain, to retrieve the ring of power from the teeth ridden depths of the wolves' lair..."

They laughed and joked their way across the plateau.

As they neared the further edge, a dark grey slab of cliff faces had been seen jutting up from out the increasingly white plateau. It was snowing again, and after trudging through it for the last couple of game hours, the team were sick of it- they couldn't even make a snowman, or have a snowball fight- the snow was, as Owen had put it earlier 'the most pointless whitey grey fluff that has no other objective other than to make you feel tired and depressed' to which Gwen had replied 'That's what I think about maths- pointless stuff coming out of my teacher whose only aim was to make every student feel suicidally depressed or drive them mad by the end of a lesson'.

The most interesting thing that had happened was running into a couple of wolves, which they had gleefully dispatched, before settling back into their depression, and trudging on in silence.

Jack spotted something dark ahead of them.

"Halt!" they stopped and Jack, sword at the ready took a few steps forward. The wind briefly dropped, revealing the cliff, and the fanged cave entrance only a few meters ahead of them.

"Here be Danger" Owen paused before adding "and I don't mean the wolves"

* * *

Thanks for reading- things don't change and I still appreciate all reviews, good, bad, anonymous or not


	7. Chapter 6: Lair of the Wolves

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666 and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favirotes

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters (and unfortunately I get the feeling that this won't ever change)

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

On with the story!

* * *

They readied their various weapons, and Jack motioning for silence, lead them into the jaws of the cave. A low growl gave them a milliseconds warning, as Owen cast his light spell, the team were suddenly able to see the half dozen wolves attacking them. They defended themselves, each suddenly cut off from the other by heaving, growling, snarling masses of wolves trying to tear their throats out.

Ianto fell backwards under the weight of one of the wolves he'd just killed, before finding himself in the face of second wolf, as the first vanished. There was a swish of metal and a soft thump as the now detached head of the wolf landed on his chest, and Jack whirled away, heading over to where Owen was fending off the attacks. Completely failing to heave to wolf remains off himself, Ianto jumped up, grabbed his sword and ran over to help Gwen, who was besieged by two particularly fierce looking and shaggy wolves. He quickly snuck up on them and dispatched them. Gwen mouthed thanks to him, and as a group, fuelled by their adrenalin they silently sped down the passageway, dispatching the smaller groups of wolves before they were noticed.

They headed deeper and deeper into the caves.

Back in the real world, Tosh peered into the dark tourist information office, before heading inside. She hadn't really been expecting to see Ianto there at this time of night, but it would have been nice to have a chat, some company before getting to work. That was probably her problem, she thought. Too much time and no one to talk to, share stories with, watch a movie and have a romantic meal. Owen was nice, but he was also dead, which was a slight- Ok maybe not so slight- drawback.

Tosh watched impassively as the front door ground back to reveal the hub.

"Hello!" she called out heading up the steps, wholly expecting Jack, or someone to appear and ask her why she was there. She stopped as she noticed several things

It was quite. Not just everyone's gone silent, silent, but the deeper more total; the worlds gone to sleep and you shouldn't be doing that silence.

No one had popped their head up to ask why she was there- ok so that was part of the silence but it was the presence of some else being there missing, not just their voice.

It was dark. If someone was there the lights would be on- actually they would probably be on if someone wasn't there.

Tosh was now thoroughly unnerved.

"Hello?" She looked around- still no reply. She opened her handbag and pulled out her gun. Ok so it shouldn't have been in there in the first place, but she lived in a flat on her own, and who knows what could happen? Pointing it ahead of her she started to head around towards her desk. Catching site of Gwens' desk she froze.

In the game, the four where nearly at the center of the caves, and fairly well off with armour, Ianto having picked some of the bigger chests, and spotted and disarmed some dangerous traps that the rest of the team would have triggered. They were all at full health and paused before the last door, which Ianto was busily unpicking. There was a satisfying clunk, and Jack gave him the signal and they burst in. The room had a lone wolf occupying it, the pack leader. It didn't attack them, but it growled at them.

Well to three of them it growled at them. To Gwen, whose skill as an animal friend allowed her to understand the wolf it said:

Why are you here? What do you want? Did **the Hermit** by **the springs** send you?

Talk topics:

**Dalvine**

**Habitat**

**the Hermit**

**Snow**

**South**

**the springs**

Gwen: **South**

Wolf: the plateau has frozen with **snow** and food is scarce. We have had to travel and hunt further **south** to find food so we can survive this cruel winter

Gwen: **Dalvine**

Wolf: **Dalvine**? We know little about man made towns, only that their inhabitants hunt us

Gwen: **habitat**

Wolf: My pack lives on the plateau, hunting and grazing up here. We rarely venture down, but this cold winter and the **snow** has forced the herds, our food, south.

Gwen: **the Hermit**

Wolf: **the Hermit** is an animal friend, and lives by **the springs**. He cares little for meat and recently has often talked about heading to **Dalvine** to find someone to help him restore **the springs**

Gwen: the springs

Wolf: the **snow** has frozen **the springs**, our main drinking hole! This has made survival much harder, and the herds have headed south, to newer pastures.

Gwen: snow

Wolf: **Snow** has frozen **the springs** and driven away the herds. It has caught and slowly killed wolves with it's cunning. It is wolfsbane, and many of us run from it

Gwen: Goodbye

Wolf: I am afraid, animal friend that I cannot let you go. One cannot ignore fresh meat when it walks so willingly into ones lair, especially with so many mouths to feed and a tight winter drawing in. Farewell animal friend.

And the wolf leapt.

Meanwhile, in the hub Tosh dashed over to the figure slumped at the desk.

"Gwen? Can you hear me Gwen?" No response. Tosh looked around to see if anyone else was there. There was no one. She had another look at what was defiantly the still silent form of Gwen, covered in a strange silvery substance. She slowly reached out to touch it…

* * *

:D I hope you've enjoyed reading so far, and as per norm any type of review is appreciated


	8. Chapter 7: a Dangerous Reality

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666, coda KAZ 2Y5, HallowAvengence, kit and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th, JoSchmo666 & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favourites

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters mopes a bit over this then realises she can still write fan fiction about them and heads over the nearest computer

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

In the last chapter I may have borrowed a line from Harry Potter- if that needs a disclaimer I'm putting it here, and consider it a tribute to the Harry potter series. Anyway, it was an ideal line for what I used it for.

Finally:

Thank you for all your support of this story so far! pauses in her writing, looks around, then pretends to be a puppeteer I love cliff-hangers- whether I'm writing them or not. What's that? You want me to get on with the story? Gah, sighs Ok then grins wildly here's the next chapter!!

* * *

Tosh slowly reached towards the strange silvery material covering Gwen, and then quickly pulled it away as it pulsed, letting out a weird humming noise. Tosh withdrew slightly more noticing how some of the film had grown towards her. She did a small take as she thought she saw Gwen shift.

"Gwen?"

Still no response and everything had quietened down again. She pondered. What to do? What to do… she came to a decision and headed to the kitchens.

Meanwhile in the game, Jack, Owen and Ianto were recovering from what they had seen. Gwen had stood face to face with the wolf, growling at each other, and then the wolf attacked Gwen, with no warning whatsoever. Ianto had been the first to recover, using telekinesis to send the wolf smashing into the opposite wall. The rest of the fight had been quick and easy, and he had started looking around the chests in the room.

Jack went over to Gwen. They had all seen the eight curling up from her when the wolf attacked, and somehow they registered that her health wasn't full. They couldn't see any health bars, but they just knew.

"Gwen, are you ok?"

Gwen was gazing at the stop where the wolf had vanished, deep in thought, before registering the fact jack was speaking to her.

"Oh. Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. Thanks" She looked troubled

"Gwen, are you sure…"

"Jack I felt it. Don't ask how but when that wolf attacked, it was real- I felt it. Look" she held up her arm, showing where it had a faded image of claw marks. The other two drew closer, listening in. Gwen looked at them in turn. "If we're hurt in the game, somehow it happens in real life. What if one of us dies?"

"Gwen, are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"No Jack!" Gwen composed herself "we're in a game, we can hear, we can see and move around, and even talk to each other, somehow, but what I felt- it was pain, not imagination, not like the rest of the game- it was for real Jack, I could feel it! Real pain, real danger. It's not a game anymore. And we should leave it well enough alone!"

Jack rocked under this outburst, and stood seemingly speechless, looking at the ground to avoid Gwens, and the others gazes. Steeling himself, Jack looked up into Gwen eyes.

"Gwen, we knew that it was a possibility when we chose to start this quest that there may be real danger, as you put it, but we can still play the game"

"Yeah, there may be danger but not to you Mr I can't die! You don't need to worry about getting torn apart by imaginary wolves!"

"Well, I doubt it could be much more dangerous than our normal jobs" Ianto pointed out "less so as we can heal easier" Jack looked at Ianto thankfully

"We just need to be more careful, and we still don't know that it really does effect us normally." There was a cold silence, and Owen and Ianto subtly shifted out of the way, giving Gwen a clear pathway to Jack, who hadn't quite twigged at how much he'd jus ticked her off.

"Oh really (?)" she took a couple of quick strides to jack and planted a solid kick in his groin. He gasped in pain, a red two floating up above him as he folded up and fell to his knees, clutching his privates. He looked up at Gwen, who was looking at him critically.

"Ok" he forced out in a higher than normal voice "point taken" he gasped and rolled over onto his side thinking to himself; why the hell is that the one place the armour doesn't quite cover, before everything went dark, as the group took a rest.

In the hub, Toshiko edged towards her desk, armed with a vinegar spray she'd tested on some of that silvery stuff, and a mug of coffee. She just needed to free a couple of things on her desk, well preferably her whole desk. Looking at it, she sighed. It was completely covered in the stuff- every screen and piece of electrical equipment. She spotted a couple of familiar shapes, and carefully sprayed them with the vinegar. Nothing happened. She stood back, clipped the spray to her belt and drank some of her coffee, before reaching forwards again and picking up her torch and data scanner, pocketing one and booting up the other. She looked around. Time to go and work out how big the problem was.

* * *

Thank you for reading, and all reviews welcome and per norm


	9. Chapter 8: Spring & Stone

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666, coda KAZ 2Y5, HallowAvengence, kit and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th, JoSchmo666 & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favourites

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

I am currently sulking. If any of you have watched exit wounds, you'll know why. They kmuffledmiffletmafflesgargh. Hey, I don't want to spoil it. But no more Torchwood for nearly another year- I'll live on the fanfiction until then.

I suppose I'll need this: set between series 2 episodes Adrift & Fragments

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

They paused outside the cave, in full health and planning on heading to the springs.

"Wow" Ianto looked around "Two moons" The surrounding landscape had turned darker and more silvery under the night sky.

Jack, folding the map scoffed

"This is nothing. The twin planets of the Haiten system, you wake up in the morning, it's still dark and you've got an entire planet hanging above you- eclipses every day. And once a year the third planet joins the system, making the sky a never ending sunset. They've all crashed and burnt now, but still wowee"

Ianto looked at Jack oddly. He rarely ever mentioned his past, yet they had all guessed that he had travelled amongst the stars. He could live for ever after all. He sidled up to Jack.

"So where is this system then?" Jack looked at him, withdrawing again.

"The _springs_, are this way, come on, and keep a careful eye out"

"Oh hang on Jack" Gwen finished the summoning and a wolf appeared beside her, looking at the others in turn, and then turning to Gwen.

"You all ready now?" The others nodded "Ok, let's go" and they headed once more across the plateau, following the edge. "It's about halfway" Jack called back "so it shouldn't take too long"

"Good!" Owen muttered to himself, before leaping to on side in shock as Gwens wolf shot past him, quickly followed by a couple of arrows. There were some signs of fighting ahead, before the wolf quickly returned and all was quiet. He turned and looked at Gwen questioningly.

"Night vision- me and Ianto can see further than you in the dark" Owen nodded in acknowledgement and they all continued across the plain.

Some time and several skirmishes with the occasional wolf later, they arrived at what would have been a bubbling stream, except for one small detail. It was frozen. A little way upstream, where water would have poured out the rock face into the pool, then down the plateau, they found a wooden shack, with a fire outside. It looked fairly basic, and outside, perched on the ground by the fire was an old man.

"It must be that Hermit the wolf talked about" the others nodded, having heard a full script of how the conversation between Gwen and the wolf had gone.

Ianto: Err, Hello?

Hermit: Have you come to drink the waters of **the springs**?

Ianto: **The springs**

Hermit: **The springs** have frozen. All the warmth is gone. The **ice giants **made off with its heart.

Ianto: **Ice giants**!

Hermit: they came down from the mountain ice caves to steal and hide the **firestone** of **the springs**. They brought winter and death to the plateau.

Ianto: **firestone**

Hermit: if it is not restored, then nearly all life that relies on the plateau will die, and the **ice giants** will come south and terrorise the people of **Dalvine**

Ianto:** Dalvine**

Hermit: I planned on travelling to **Dalvine** to tell them about the firestone, and maybe get a search group together… unless

Maybe you could retrieve it for me. You look like able adventurers, will you head up into the **mountain caves** to find the **firestone**, and return it to **the springs**?

Ianto: Yes

Hermit: Thank you. Here have these (+5 health potions, map of the mountain caves) they will help you in your journey. You need to prepare for your journey. Is there anything else you need to know?

Talk topics:

**Dalvine**

**Firestone**

**Ice Giants**

**Mountain caves**

**The springs**

Ianto: **mountain caves**

Hermit: head west to the base of **the knuckles**, then follow them south until you hit the glacier. The **Ice Giants** live in the glacier.

Ianto: goodbye

Hermit: farewell, may the gods give you fortune

"Ianto was I hearing things or did you just agree to go grab a stone off some ice giants?"

"Yes Owen"

"Great (!)"

"You know I'd have thought that you would be enjoying this more than you are"

"Well all it really is, is running or walking around fake palaces killing non existent enemies and talking to people who don't exist"

"At least the computers it's running on are fast- just think what it would be like if there was lag"

"If, there was lag" Jack put in "I'd have to wait six centuries for you two to be quiet. Now, Dalvine or the mountain caves?"

"Caves"

"Caves"

"Dalvine" Owen looked at the others "Come on guys- ice giants? I thought we needed to be careful, not go gallivanting off on the most dangerous quest available. Guys? Guys- OI WAIT UP!"

Owen ran to catch up with the rest on their journey west.

"We don't even know what a firestone looks like!!"

* * *

End of another chapter and it's nearly midnight- I must be nuts. Anyway, thank you for reading, and all reviews are welcome


	10. Chapter 9: Ice Giants

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666, coda KAZ 2Y5, HallowAvengence, kit and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th, JoSchmo666 & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favourites

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

Doctor who is back! Woot! (Anyone else think those adipose looked like animated marshmallows?) Anyway I'm happy and here's the next chapter

* * *

"I've got to admit, that's one pretty piece of graphics" Owen whispered, before hunkering down behind the boulder again.

They were hiding, and it wasn't to hard to see why

"I'd say that that's one scary piece of computer animation- it's huge and dangerous, in a very real sense"

"Ianto, from your point of view, everything looks huge"

"Well, it is a giant, so I'd bet it looks fairly big from even your point of view"

"Fair do's"

"Ok, we're going to just try and sneak past it- I'd rather not have any injuries, or frostbite"

Owen scoffed

"Well I won't have any problems there Jack, I can assure you."

"Maybe so, but I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of one of those fists"

Gwen looked at the ice giant anxiously.

"Couldn't we attack just this one, so we know how strong they are? – we can then heal and decide whether to go for an all out attack on the caves or sneak through the whole lot"

"Sounds like a plan. Gwen, Ianto- any other dangers nearby?"

"Nup"

"Nope"

"Gwen, ranged attack, Ianto you sneak up behind- I'll go for the front and Owen, stand by for healing and reinforcements if it's needed- got that?" there was a pause, and a distinct thump of a foot, and the team looked up at the ice giant, peering over the boulder at them, bringing an icy fist high before sending it crashing towards the team.

"Scatter!" they scrabbled to the sides to get out the way before whipping out their various weapons and attacking the ice giant. Gwen frowned as none of her arrows pierced the giant, and switching weapons, darted in and out of its legs, alongside Ianto.

Jack kept swinging his sword, blocking some of the giants' attacks and dodging others, but despite levelling up again on the way there, they were barely making a dent on the creatures' health. At the edge of the fray, Owen grabbed something out his pack.

"Oh god I hope this works" He stood a raised the wand up dramatically, aiming it at the Ice Giant. There was a whoosh and a ball of flame shot towards the ice giant, and missed as it bent low for a sweeping stroke, knocking Jack off his feet.

Jack gasped for breath as he looked up at the giant towering above him, bringing its' icy foot high to stamp him out. Jack closed his eyes bracing himself for the attack.

Which never came. The giant stumbled back as a ball of flame hit it in the chest, knocking it back and demolishing the larger part of its health. A quick second shot finished it off, and it tumbled to the ground. Owen looking rather bemusedly at the fallen ice giant, caught the others looking at him, and gave a mock bow.

"Did you know that this game had about ten different ways of calling a character magician? Healer's just a specification, indicating what spells I learn. I can still use magic items" he emphasised the point by brandishing the wand, and the others instinctively ducked.

"That's all well, but how many attacks have you got in that thing?" Jack edged his way to Owen as he considered

"Seventeen and it takes a couple of hits to bring a giant down, so I can kill eight giants"

"Which is still not enough for what we need to do"

"I'm guessing that what we need to do is go storm that cave over there and retrieve the firestone, no doubt locked in a chest in the deepest part of the caves, guarded by an even fiercer Ice giant, or if we're lucky, Ice Giants"

"Yes Ianto- which cave?" Ianto pointed to a darker patch on the glacier

"That one" Jack started to ask a question, but Ianto cut across him "No more ice Giants outside- they only had the one guard ice giant"

"Guard ice giant?" queried Gwen.

"Yeah, well they do have those little name tags above them that you all seem to have registered without acknowledging you've seen them- It's what told you that the wolf Gwen talked to was the Pack Leader" They all tried it out

"Oh yeah"

"I can see what you mean"

Jack breezed past them towards the cave entrance, and the others hurried after him, almost knocking each other over when he suddenly stopped.

There had once been a great wooden door at the front of the cave, but it was now broken and burnt, the floor littered with ash and charcoal.

"Oh" Gwen exclaimed "Looks like they've had visitors"

"Anything that reduces the number of ice giants in there, I'm happy with. Come on" Jack headed into the cave weapon at the ready.

Inside, they crept along, peering through the half light filtering down through the ice. Turning a corner they quickly dispatched an unsuspecting giant, and paused to take in the ice cavern. It was a massive hall, elegantly carved ice pillars holding the place up, with shattered and broken statues dotted around haphazardly. The exit at the other end had also been forced.

"Wow"

"Yeah, wow, well that's... that is…" Ianto looked around at Gwen and Owen for help

"Cool?" Owen offered

"Yeah, in more ways than one" they laughed and Gwen shivered.

"More ways than one isn't a good way" jack pointed out "Look, this game is taking into account the fact we're standing in a mound of ice. That's quite smart for a game and I don't like it. We'd better get this over and done with before anyone freezes to death. Come on"

They headed down the hall and after several more tunnels and despatched a couple more ice giants, before entering another chamber and freezing to the spot. They boggled silently at the sight before them. A gilded ice giant stood holding a red stone up high, the heat from it melting its ceiling, and the massive fist in which it was being held. But it was looking at a ruby red Dragon, and they were facing each other off.

The team stood, unmoving as they watched the conversation before them

Dragon: Why did you take the firssssstone?

Ice Giant King: It has held back the expansion of our kingdom for many years. In our power we can now grow, and populate the continent, pushing out the fire loving occupants

Dragon: Possession of the firesssstone hassss put you in great danger! You musssst hand it to usss Drangonssss, where we will keep it sssafe from those who would use it for ill

Ice Giant King: you only wish to destroy us, and take the firestone to use for yourself! Why should I give you our greatest possession?

Dragon: It isss not yoursss. As for destroying you, by keeping the ssstone, you are destroying yourself. And you have upset a delicate balance by removing the firesssstone from its' home.

Ice Giant King: Your words are false, thieving trespasser! If you want the stone so badly come and get it, you bag of leather and wool!!

Dragon: You have no idea of the danger the world is in if you keep the stone. In the eyries we have more chance to keep it safe from the Four. They seek the power of the stones and there is few forces on this world to stop them. This is your last chance. Hand me the Stone!

Ice Giant King: NO!

The conversation ended and the two laid into each other, the giant swinging his fists, and the dragon dodging, jetting lose huge gouts of flame. The cavern shook with the howl of the Ice Giant King as he fell. Taking the stone in his jaws the dragon melted a hole in the ceiling and flew away towards the Knuckles.

The team stood in silence, unaware that they could move again.

"Dragons!" Owen moaned "and I thought the ice giants were bad enough"

* * *

Thank you for reading, and reviews are always appreciated


	11. Chapter 10: Going up

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666, coda KAZ 2Y5, HallowAvengence, kit, Smirgutt and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th, JoSchmo666, Smirgutt & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favourites

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

Less talk, more story- here it is:

* * *

"Come on, that ice giant left some stuff behind, let's go have a look" Ianto strode out across the floor, and the others followed. Moments later there was a loud rumble and the area of roof over where they had stood collapsed, blocking the way out. They looked at each other in alarm.

"I think we're not meant to go out that way"

"Then how are we gonna get out of here Mr Harper?"

He shrugged, and then flinched as Ianto chucked something over to Jack, who switched it into his inventory and equipped it, giving it a couple of tryouts

"This should be useful- more damage against any beast"

"What exactly is it?" Gwen looked at the sword, but could not place what it was.

"Let me see" Jack used his Lore skill "Greatsword +1 with added ice damage to opponents"

"It can't cut us a route out of here can it?" Muttered Owen

"Gwen catch" Ianto lobbed another piece of kit towards Gwen who caught it and equipped it straight away, then dropped her previous armour to Owen, who in turn donned it.

"Why do I always get the second hand armour?"

"A: because you're a healer/ magician and don't do as much close up fighting as we do, and B:" Ianto lobbed several spells and another wand to Owen

"Ok that's all the chests cleared, and I found this" He pulled out a key.

"That's great! Now we just need to find a door" commented Jack

"How about trying behind that suspicious looking piece of old wood over there that appeared just now?"

Indeed it did unlock to reveal an alternative exit route, and soon the four where gazing out over the glacier.

"Hate to break this to you guys, but I don't think the game intends for us to go back to Dalvine at this point" Owen looked at the others "Unless we try and slide down the Glacier, which by my knowledge of computer graphics won't work, there's only one path away from here, and I'm not liking it"

They turned to gaze at the steep rocky path winding its way up towards the top of the Knuckles.

"I think I might have to join you on this one Owen"

"Finally! - Thank you Gwen"

"I mean, dragons? They're even worse than those giants- they breathe fire, and chances are we're going to be roast turkey before we get anywhere near enough to get a decent hit on the things"

"What's wrong with a bit of Dragon hunting? It's not like we can do it nowadays, as they've all left, and anyway it's a unique opportunity!"

"Jack!"

They descended into an argument, whilst Ianto watched, sitting on a nearby boulder. They're going to be busy for a while, he thought, and started to explore up the track, freezing as a shadow glided over him.

Tosh sighed, leaning over the railings and looking down over the hub. She'd found Jack, also overrun by whatever the silvery stuff was, and she thought she might have seen Owen and Ianto- also buried under the silvery material. That room had been absolutely covered by the stuff, and it'd nearly got her once or twice. She'd spent the rest of her time setting up surveillance for the team, using heat sensors to check their health. Excluding Owen who was, well, dead as per norm, they all seemed fine. But there had not been many places in the hub that whatever it was hadn't got to.

Ok , so it wasn't apparently doing much harm, but it stopped her from getting to the majority of her equipment, holding back any progress in figuring out what it was. Sighing again, she made her way towards her desk, which had partially been covered by the stuff again. So no use there…

One idea, one brainwave to get going, that's all she needed. She yawned. The early start is getting to me she thought, now where did I put my coffee. Her gaze wandered around and rested on a thick covering of the silvery stuff, slightly browner than the rest. Ah. Hang on. Tosh nudged some of the stuff out the way with the end of the torch. She took a step back, leaving the torch where it was, covered under the caffeine powered strands of the stuff. Yes, she thought to herself, that would be a good start. Time to go find out exactly what this stuff is. She then turned and headed down to the autopsy bay.

* * *

Thank you for read: Next chapter up soon


	12. Chapter 11: The Encounter

Thank you to: pinkalarmclock, Kate, Lutherian, Mindy, Ghostfish, MythStar Black Dragon, bbmcowgirl, Crazy Psycho Book Freak, Pinkfairy727, shadowcat510, JoSchmo666, coda KAZ 2Y5, HallowAvengence, kit, Smirgutt and GossipGirl17 for your reviews

Also thank you to: Kazz the 13th, JoSchmo666, Smirgutt & shadowcat510, who have added this to their favourites

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

* * *

Tosh looked down at the box on the seat beside her. Thankfully whatever it was had completely ignored her as she had cut a small sample of it off, and even better, the bit she'd cut off hadn't grown . But she'd had leave the team behind, heading to a research facility about two/ two and a half hours drive away, to call in a favour from a brief colleague to help her identify it, because her own equipment and Torchwoods personal alien identifier (aka Jack) were both currently out of reach.

Still uneasy about leaving the others behind, she'd set up a basic surveillance of the teams health, but it had just gone out of signal. She put the peddle down, knowing that anything could happen to the team whilst she was gone, and the less time she took about it, the better.

Ianto started running back towards the others as the pterodactyl turned to make a swoop at them. Gwen and Owen were out of sight, but he could see Jack, gazing out over the landscape. Abandoning the thought of diving on top of him at the last minute, Ianto rugby tackled his knees instead, sending Jack sprawling to the floor, as it flew overhead.

As it swooped again Gwen jumped up, fired a couple of arrows into it, sending it crashing to the ground in front of her.

Jack got his breath back first.

"Thanks for that Ianto"

"Nmmo moblm, mnow greb hof m!"

"Ianto?" Jack shifted to get up and a distinctive Ow came from under him Jack turned around and helped Owen pull the Halfling to his feet.

"Are you ok?"

"I've just had Jack fall on top of me. Not the best thing to happen in this world to be honest Owen"

Jack sidled up

"But I'd bet you'd love it if it happened on earth?"

"Okaaay, enough of the flirting, we've got more important things to think about- Ianto you didn't lose any health there, so I guess we're good to go"

"Ok guys, let's keep moving. Gwen, Ianto, keep and eye out for more of those Pterodactyls"

"They don't even look anything like Pterodactyls" Gwen grumbled

"This is a game remember? And if the designers had seen and designed a real Pterodactyl that hadn't been in the History Museum, we'd have something to worry about"

"Talking about worrying about things, does anyone have any idea about why this has happened? Getting stuck in the game that is?" Owen looked at the others, considering that thought.

The world jerked and changed. Suddenly they were near the top of the peaks, the clouds thick and black, huge claps of thunder breaking through the night. The howl of wind dimmed their voices.

"WOAH!" Gwen exclaimed leaping towards the others "What happened?" She looked around in shock.

"Oh okay…" Ianto said nervously. Looking around at his team, Jack took charge.

"Ok I think the game has been jumped forward. I need a summary of what's changed. Check personal stats and equipment then we scout the area around. Ok?" The team murmured in agreement before setting to their tasks.

"Done. No new equipment, we've been restored to full health, but the most interesting thing is we've levelled up again. Twice" Owen looked at the others "I think the whole game's jumped forwards"

"That would seem the most likely explanation, but to where?"

"The top of the mountains, the Dragons Lair" Gwen said slowly "Now turn around slowly and have a look at this"

"Oh craps"

"Great (!)"

They stood facing the Dragon that had just crawled out of the cave, and watched as it edged towards them, trying to work out whether it was friendly or not. It lunged, spitting fire at the team, who desperately scrambled out the way, before running back and attacking as ferociously as they could.

Ianto kept hiding and hacking at the Dragon in turn, dodging the majority of the attacks. The others worked away, Owen healing as he went.

"The health's nearly down, come on one last attack!" Jack yelled, charging forwards and planting another huge swing in the Dragons body.

"_Yield"_

"Stop" Jack commanded, and the three withdrew to restore their health and relax a bit more, whilst Jack went to talk to the Dragon

Dragon: Why do you attack us?

Jack: **The Firestone**

Dragon: You seek to return it to its home, but it needs to be **protected**

Jack: **protected **

Dragon: there are four with magical fire at there fingers that seek the power of **the firestone**. They must not get it!

Jack: (persuasion) **The springs** are freezing and it's killing so many! If you want to protect the stone, restore it and protect it. Then you would save many more.

Dragon: (persuasion success) Very well. I shall restore the stone to **the springs** and guard it there. Come with me.

They followed the Dragon into the cave, where they saw more dragons hunkered down around the pedestal in the center. The Dragon picked up the stone and headed out again, three more dragons following.

They stopped.

"Errm…" ventured Owen "What now?"

Jack swung himself onto the Dragon.

"Climb aboard, and welcome to dragon airlines!"

Gwen gasped in astonishment, before heading to the nearest dragon.

"Wow"

Owen looked down at his steed.

"Are you sure it's safe? Where's the seatbelt?" he joked

Meanwhile Ianto tried to climb on the remaining dragon, before Jack spotted him and gave him a leg up.

"Ok guys this is probably as close to flying a dragon as you're ever going to get. Enjoy"

And the Dragons took off, running at the edge of the mountain, taking a huge leap that made Gwens stomach lurch, before the wings snapped out and they soared across the clear sky, taking in the sunrise.

Jack let out a huge whoop of delight, making Gwen smile. It was one of the perks of the job. New experiences pretty much day to day. Ok so not all of them where as good as this, but still it made the job exciting. It was a pity Tosh wasn't there to share the moment.

Tosh was in fact looking rather amusedly at a sheet of results.

"So you sent this to be checked and it's a…"

"Yeah. Odd isn't it? Did it come through the Rift?" Martha looked at Tosh

"Oh probably, I'll need to check. Mind you the amount it's grown"

"How's the team?"

"Oh err, good. Gwen's finally married Rhys. Entertaining wedding though. Jacks his normal self. Hasn't died since the last time you saw him. Probably something of a record"

"How's Owen?" Tosh glanced up

"Oh he's good. Dead as normal but managing. No new injuries"

"That's good" Martha held up another sheet of paper "We ran that comparative scan against the earth species database"

"And?"

"Fraxinus excelsior"

Tosh looked up in surprise

"Oh right. Errm is it sentient?" Martha smiled and shook her head

"We were unable to discern that from the sample you brought us. I think it's for you to find out"

Tosh nodded in agreement, collecting the papers.

"You can keep the sample; add it to your database if you want. I'm sure I'll be able to replace it"

"You going now?"

"Yeah. I'd rather be where I can keep a closer eye on things, so the sooner I get back to the hub the better"

"Ok then. Bye"

"Bye. And err thanks for the help"

"No problem. Bye"

Tosh drove off, giving a quick wave to the old team member, if only for a short while, before glancing down at the sheets again. She needed to get back to the hub. But before that, she needed to make a small detour…

In the game the team dismounted by the springs, seemingly abandoned by wolves and the hermit alike. They watched at the stone was dropped into the springs, gradually melting its way through the ice, getting the water flowing again and melting the snow.

Before anyone could comment, everything froze, and a young man, clad in vibrant magician robes, strode through their midst, holding together a time stop spell on the area. He reached the springs and plucked from it the Firestone. The spell ended.

Dragon: NO!

One of the Four: I am one of The Four: no beast stands in my way

The Dragon stepped back, unable to do anything as events unfolded

"What do you want?"

One of the Four: I claim the earth born right to the power of the Firestone: true power over this land! Do you oppose me?

Jack nodded to Gwen who unleashed an arrow which struck the Magician.

One of The Four: You are nothing but weak worms! Soon we will wield the full power of this earth, and the Four of the Stones shall rule!!

With that proclamation of doom, the magician lifted the firestone up high, and vanished, sending a wall of flame rolling out on the nearby countryside.

Which included the team.

Owen, naturally safe from the fire readied a magical shield, but hesitated torn between Gwen and Ianto. Mouthing a small sorry to Gwen he stepped toward Ianto, holding the shield around both of them, barely flinching as the flames passed over.

Gwen was left in the open, nothing between the flame wall and herself. Fighting a rising panic, she backed away, bringing an arm up as if to reflect the heat of the oncoming wall of fire. Just before it hit, Jack leapt in front of her, taking the full impact of the magic, allowing Gwen to retain a dribble of health.

But Jack was dead.

* * *

Okies long chapter, but last one was a bit short so it evens out.

Thank you for reading

Now: apologies for those who are enjoying this story and are eager for the next chapter, but it won't be up for quite a while, as this piece is going on hold for the duration of my exams, which end about mid/ end of June 08

Sorry for this but when life rears its head there's no denying it.


	13. Chapter 12: Retreat

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favourites.

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or associated characters

Also, any resemblances between Greenland wind RPG and any existing RPG's are purely coincidental.

Finally! Here is the next chapter, after nearly two months of silence due to exams. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Ianto walked over to Gwen and quietly gave her a health potion, barely taking his eyes off the spot where Jack had been. He'd already faded away from the game; only moments after the flame had past. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. Yet Ianto couldn't stop feeling that Jack had taken the easy route and abandoned them. A small voice protested, calling out that Jack wouldn't do that, but Ianto was still shocked at his disappearance, and it was left, ignored.

Owen gazed blankly over the area. It was just the three of them and the dragon left, and the place seemed quiet and empty, with only the moan of the wind to keep them company. Even the wind wasn't real. It reminded him of a time when he'd stayed up so late dissecting aliens, that when he'd finished, even Jack and Ianto had fallen asleep, and he felt alone in the hub. A feeling that had recently become all too common when he wasn't at work. He sighed catching site of another portion of white text. Well, he reasoned to himself, it would be better than nothing. Leaving the other two to recover a bit, he went and talked with the Dragon.

Dragon: There is a great danger upon this world. If that magician is seeking the powers of the stones, then we have to act fast. The firestone is one of the sources of power that fuel the magic of Greenland Wind. If they have control over them, they have control over the land. This should not be allowed to occur at any cost. You must go and stop them.

Alas I do not know how you will stop them. I only knew the location and nature of this one stone. Maybe Old Henri at Dalvine can tell you more. I must return and protect the nest. Farewell.

Owen nodded and watched the Dragon fly away, thinking over what it said.

"That's the next stage in the game."

"Do you really want to continue, after this?" Owen spun round to face Ianto.

"Jack said we should. That's good enough reason to continue."

"He died Owen. He may be immortal, but what's to stop that from happening to any of us?" Gwen pointed out.

"Yeah, and the game's just going to get more and more difficult, isn't it? I vote we stop playing, and wait it out."

"And die of boredom? You're suggesting we give up? You, Torchwood members who have faced things many people can't even imagine, are giving up in a game? Oh my respect for you has just plummeted. We managed without Jack for quite a while, now we'll have to manage without him again. Anyway, whatever has happened to him, he'll try and help us, I know it."

Ianto and Gwen looked at each other questioningly. Ianto sighed.

"OK, we'll continue."

"Thank you."

"But this is for Jack. And if we come in to any life threatening danger, we are retreating to the nearest safe place and staying put. We are not taking any more risks."

Gwen looked at Ianto surprised. It was strange to see him taking charge; as the tea boy, he was normally the last person to do so. But he had a point.

"Let's go." Ianto strode across the plateau, Gwen following close behind, and leaving Owen alone speechless.

"You haven't even asked me what the Dragon said yet! Hey, wait up!"

They rounded the corner only to catch sight of a horde of summoned wolves at the bottom of the plateau, blocking the only way out.

"Bloody wolves!" Ianto drew his daggers and charged down the slope, quickly followed by Gwen and Owen. They set to the wolves with a vicious focus, felling many, each disappearing in a magical wisp of smoke. By the time they'd finished, all that was left on the floor was one scroll.

I have completed what we agreed. When my wolves have finished with the remnants of the villagers and their heroes, there will be so much confusion that no one will notice the disappearance of the Firestone, and you will still hold the element of surprise for your quarter of the task. I will return to the Keep at once, and prepare the beginnings of the …

The rest of the page was torn and blotched, and could not be read. Gwen sighed and stored the piece of paper away.

"Dalvine is not far away. We should go. Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Ianto inquired, wondering if Gwen was thinking what he had.

Maybe Jack will be there. Reborn. His is a part god in this game, just maybe…

"Nothing." She turned, and they headed down to Dalvine.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! I am planning to get the next chapter up soon.


	14. Chapter 13: Trading Road

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, and any resemblances between Greenland Wind and any other RPG are purely coincidental.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or added this story to their alerts/favourites.

My computer isn't in the best shape at the moment, so new chapters will be few and far between. Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

Owen Gwen and Ianto barely paused as they strode into town, splitting off to their own destinations without a word, Ianto to the Hole, Gwen to the Blacksmith and Owen to the Trader. Ianto paused outside the Hole and, after checking the others had gone inside, he wandered over to the Temple, and had a look around.

No Jack. With a sigh, he headed back to the Hole, just being missed by Owen who nipped next door to the Temple for supplies.

Gwen, meanwhile had finished stocking up at the blacksmiths and missing the other two completely, took a detour, and had a look around the pub.

No Jack. Heading back out she joined the other two by the well. After exchanging the equipment, they headed to the Grove.

"Oh." They stopped in surprise, seeing a familiar figure.

**The Hermit:** I see you managed to escape the magician.

**Old Henri: **He has come to stay here, now that the springs have frozen. We thank you for your efforts in trying to save the firestone, and are very grateful that you have saved the villages from the wolves, but I fear that you are the only hope we have for a far greater task. As you know by now there are four powerful magicians that are searching for four stones, element stones that hold great power, and which must not be held by one power, at any cost. You must stop them, before it's too late.

How? You ask. Well, there are four stones hidden across Greenland wind. The Firestone, the Earthstone, the Waterstone and the Windstone. You must find them. We have a contact in Llevic, who has a lead on the location of the Waterstone. You must go there as soon as possible and follow it up. The trading road through the High Forest is the fastest route, but keep an eye out for wolves, bears, spiders and if you run into any elves, keep on their good side. The contact will meet you when you arrive in Llevic. Good luck.

**The Hermit: **Indeed. One final thing before you head off. Llevic is a port town, full of shady and ill wishing characters. Watch your money equipment and backs. Be careful who you trust. Those magicians may have spies working for them. Good luck and farewell.

Owen , Ianto and Gwen murmured their farewells and headed off to the edge of the forest where the road dived into the darkness of the trees, where they stopped.

"Still no Jack?"

Ianto and Gwen shook their heads.

"I checked the pub."

"I checked the Temple, just in case."

Owen looked across at the other two, unsurprised.

"No Jack. Well, it could be worse." He sighed. "Come on." He strode down the road, shivering as everything got darker. "Is there any chance that one of you two bought a torch?"

"No."

"Nope. We've got night sight remember."

"Bugger." They proceeded in silence, spotting several lights ahead on the road. They caught up with the traders caravans, where Owen was able to learn a spell for light. They split up amongst the various caravans, each talking to a trader, snapping out of it when the caravans slowed, and stopped. Ianto ran up to Owen, at the front.

"Fallen tree, pretty hefty, not even joint telekinesis can shift it. What do you think? And where did Gwen get to?"

Ianto paused before replying. "I think, Gwen was near the back, and that tree was chopped down deliberately. Look, that's the work of a sword, and claw marks…"

"And burn marks." They looked at each other, drew their weapons and headed back to the caravans.

"We think it's a trap." More and more people gathered around the tree, but no one paid attention.

"They're not going to be any use, are you ready?"

"Yeah, just let me sort a couple of spells out…"

Just then one of the caravans exploded in a huge ball of flame, and huge growls filled the air as a horde of summoned hellhounds, spiders and bears attacks. Several woodmen mercenaries also attacked, cutting people down with every stroke. Owen started shooting off fireballs as fast as he could, each hitting a target, and Ianto chucked his throwing stars, before grabbing his swords and leaping into the fray with a yell.

A little way off Gwen had frozen when the caravan exploded, before dashing forward, leaping on another caravan, and firing at the creatures. But there were still too many, and soon all but Owen Ianto and Gwen lay dead.

Too far from each other to help, it was all they could do to defend themselves in the darkness.

Gwen flinched as a bright light filled the area, and the woodman attacking her collapsed, headless. Seeing the chance, she leapt up and started shooting at the creatures attacking Ianto and Owen. The bright light span leaving a trail of dead in its wake. Soon the attack had ended, the creatures defeated. The light began to fade, reviling the figure within.

"I'm away for barely a moment, and you guys go and have fun without me."

Owen scoffed.

"Well sir, it was hardly fun without you." Ianto stood on the remains of a caravan, making him about the same height as Jack. "Welcome back. You did a good job with those creatures."

"I picked the spell up from an abandoned caravan back there, and speaking of which, we should recover as much as we can."

They agreed and started to work.

"Jack, just to say, thank you." Jack looked at Gwen.

"It wasn't a problem."

"What was it like?" Ianto and Owen paused to listen in.

"Too similar to real death for my liking. I can't tell whether I actually died or not. The pain and the darkness was there, but I can't…" Jack sighed "We still need to be careful." Jack broke eye contact and continued collecting the bounty.

"Whoa, jackpot!" They headed over to where Ianto was checking a couple more chests, each full with gold and decent equipment.

"Did you call me? Wow." Jack picked up a piece of armour and put it on, the others doing similar things. Within minutes they'd totally upgraded their equipment, and were trying to work out what they were going to do with the remains. Jack had managed to make a huge pile of jewellery, and was boasting about how he'd wiped out the creatures.

"I just danced around; slicing here there, then there weren't anymore left. I'm defiantly the better fighter here."

"Oh yeah, no doubt about that. You're nabbing all the experience at the moment. Probably explains how your already three levels ahead of us." Ianto moaned.

"Yup and loving every minute of it." He chuckled and posed heroically. "Jack Harkness, prince of the Forest." They fell about laughing, mock bowing.

"There is only one true Prince of the High Forest." The voice came from all around them, from the forest that suddenly seemed very dark, and a good place for hiding all things unfriendly. As if to underline the words, there was the unmistakeable sound of two dozen bowstrings being drawn back, and no prizes were going for guessing where they were pointing. "Now on your knees."


	15. Chapter 14: The Elves

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, and any resemblances between Greenland Wind and other RPG's are purely coincidental. *ahem*

A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story/ added it to their favourites, or even just put it on their alerts.

First I apologise for taking so damn long to get this chapter out. There really is no excuse for this sort of delay. I will do my utmost to ensure it does not happen again. Meanwhile, even without updates Virus has been crawling towards 4000 hits. Yep, 4000. I am stunned, and looking at how much of the story there is to go I wonder how far it will get…

Anyway, I have tarried long enough: On with the story!

* * *

The elves crept out onto the path, bows pointed at the team, who were looking at each other in desperation.

"On your knees!"

Jack slowly, reluctantly sank to his knees, and the others followed.

"Good, now…" Another elf sauntered out the shadows. "What shall I do with you lot?" He had a good look at them, his eyes lingering a moment on Gwen. "Too long has our command over these eaves been ignored, for too long has the glory of the elves fall into the shadow. We have closed the road through our realm that we permitted you so long ago, when at it's creation we were promised of acceptance, riches and peace. But our people have been shunned because of their beauty; our riches have been squandered away in the city and out forest has been constantly damaged and disturbed by your people. This is our forest, and we will no longer tolerate fat merchants crawling through it, burning trees and killing its animals!"

"But, we would not harm them if they don't attack us!" Gwen exclaimed. He wandered over to her, and seemed to hesitate.

"On your feet!" Gwen carefully stood up. "Come." He gestured to a path leading off into the forest. "Bring the others!" He yelled back and he headed off into the darkness, closely followed by Gwen and a moment later the others, herded by the remaining elves.

For what seemed like a long time they were walking through the forest, but they finally came across the elves camp, where they were put into a makeshift wooden cage.

"Why did you have to go and open your big fat gob?" Moaned Owen. "We could be in Llevic by now, and getting on with the actual game instead of some poxy side story."

"Hey so how was I meant to know that it would trigger the attack of the elves?"

"Surely you'd come across this game before? I mean you seemed to have done nearly everything under the stars!"

"And you think I'd remember the tiniest detail if I had. That'd be a bit like you being able to remember what colour tie Ianto wore on Christmas last year."

"Red."

Jack looked at Owen in surprise.

"Right…"

"I'd described it as more of a deep red, but you're right. Although, I do seem to recall it was switched later on because Jack insisted on it. He wanted me to seem a bit more festive." Ianto glanced at Jack, who smiled back.

"That you were." He looked at Owen. "How'd you remember that?"

"I'm a doctor. It's part of my job to remember details."

"Remember any useful details about the game?" Owen shook his head. "Hopefully then, Gwen is doing a bit better than us."

Gwen looked anxiously around the tent, wondering where the others were. She'd seen them being taken off to one side off the elves camp, in a different area. So far she'd managed to buy a couple of pieces of upgraded equipment and then followed the NPCs advice and headed to this tent. And waited.

After a while Prince came into the tent.

Prince: I am glad you came. I can see that you are of kin, unlike those you travel with. So I am treating you as a guest, instead of trespasser. Ask what you will.

Talk Topics:

**The Forest**

**Prince**

**Services**

**Trading Road**

**Llevic**

**Elves**

**Adventurers**

Gwen: **The Forest**

Prince: It has been the home of the **elves** for generations, and we draw our power from its eaves. Though we have tolerated the damage to our home in the past, we will no longer let this stand during these **troubled times**.

Gwen: **Troubled Times**

Prince: More and more attacks have occurred and large swathes of the forest are falling to make space for desperate farmers, being driven away from their own land to the east. But let us not talk about these problems: what else would you know?

Gwen: **Trading Road**

Prince: We have closed the **trading road** until they honour our original agreement.

Gwen: **Llevic**

Prince: A large City port on the coast. The **trading road** lead there. It is not a place for any elf to be.

Gwen: **Elves**

Prince: We have dwelt in this forest for a long time, longer than the humans who now threaten us have existed

Gwen:** Prince**

Prince: That is me. I have ruled **the forest** for a while now, listening to the world and ensuring our survival. Yet of late it has been disturbed.

Gwen: **Services**

Prince: Though we talk you are still our prisoners. We have no **services** for you.

Gwen: **Adventurers**

Prince: You claim to be adventurers? So how come you were on the road to **Llevic**? Why were you **attacked**?

Gwen: **Attacked**

Prince: The southern magicians are causing trouble again. It would explain a lot. You seem to attract trouble though, especially if you are going hunting after the same items as these wizards and conjurers. I will escort you back to the main road. It should be **safe** enough.

Gwen: **Safe**

Prince: You don't think it will be **safe** enough? There are other routes out the forest but I am loathe to show you them. They must be kept secret at all costs.

Gwen: _Persuasion_

Prince: (_persuasion success)_ Very well, I cannot refuse a pretty face when my only other option is putting it in such terrible danger. There is a direct route to Llevic. I will supply you with supplies and send you on your way in the morning. But for now would you stay with me.

Gwen: **Stay**

There was a pause as an age old timer flipped over in the middle of… Gwen frowned trying not to look at it, as it made her eyes water. With a jolt the scene changed, and it was dark, but there were loud sounds of fighting outside, and occasional bangs and flashes light up the inside of the tent. Prince was standing by the door. She walked over to him.

Prince: It seems one of your magicians have found us. I will take you and your fellow adventurers to the secret passage to Llevic, from there you must go on alone. I am needed to hold back these meddlers. We will secure off the trading road and deny further access to the forest. We must protect our own.

I would like you to have this:

**Item: Green Pendant **

Not all elves, or even part elves spend their time on difficult adventures, and I you will need this more than me. It will help protect you in difficult situations: No doubt you will find yourself in many.

Gwen put the green and bronze pendant on, noting the distinct increase in her armour level.

Prince: Follow me.

Prince exited the tent, and Gwen followed, to see him standing by a dark gap in the forest, with the sounds of battle around them, but no sign of it, apart from a large smashed wooden cage. He went into the gap, subtly labelled Secret passage. She followed, and smiled as she came out into a small clearing with the Prince, and her three teammates.

"Gwen, there you are! Look we need to get back onto the trading road or at least go try and fight the mag…"

"It's fine Jack. Prince here is showing us a secret route to Llevic. We can get on with the main quest now."

"Oh" Jack stood there looking slightly surprised and relieved. "Good, that's good."

Prince: I bid you farewell. The passageway comes out a mile from the north entrance of Llevic. You should be able to find your contact quickly and continue from there. I wish you luck on you adventure.

With that he turned and disappeared, leaving them alone in the clearing.

They looked at each other, then the passageway.

"Onwards?"

"Onwards." They turned and filed into the passageway, disappearing one by one, leaving an empty glade which quickly dissolved into nothing.

* * *

Thanks for reading so far! And thank you for being so patient with me!


	16. Chapter 15: Llevic

Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, and any resemblances between Greenland Wind and other RPG's are purely coincidental. *ahem*

A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story/ added it to their favourites, or even just put it on their alerts.

Oooh look! More story!

* * *

Tosh leant against the railings quietly sipping her coffee, ignoring the figure struggling towards her with an obviously heavy and bulky load, which he dumped on the floor with relief. Rhys groaned and wiped the sweat off his face.

"Here it is then. There'd better be a good reason for this! Anyway, I'd thought you'd have created some advanced version only you guys can get to use by now?"

"Unfortunately not. Actually no, we did, but UNIT nicked it. Now this stuff's no use out here, we need to get it inside. Come on." Tosh turned and walked off to the tourist shop that served as front for an entrance to the Torchwood hub, with Rhys glaring after her.

"'We need to get it inside' and not a single move to help poor old Rhys. What use have they got for this lot anyway? It's not like they've got anything to use it on." Rhys sighed and then somehow managed to load himself up again, and make his way slowly across to the shop.

-

There was a brief moment when everything around them was pixelated and blurred, and then the scenery arranged itself, spitting the team out of the forest onto the edge of a low plain. The background formed to show the land on the other side of the river, stretching south, rising up into snow covered mountains, giving such an impression of height that they instantly knew the range rose far higher than the Knuckles. Still looking south, but closer to, they could see the mouth of the river, gaping out into the sea. Where the water of the river met the sea, a peninsula jutted a slight way out, sheltering a natural bay, upon which squatted a not so natural city, a port. Llevic.

It sunk into the scenery like a pile of fresh muck, oozing half heartedly into the bay, spewing out barely seaworthy boats with tons of sewage, although an onlooker would be hard pressed to tell the two apart.

"They say that the water here is so thick that if someone drowns, they stay drowned, no bodies found. Unfortunately this suited the needs of a very unwelcome sort of person, and so Llevic in the past few years has gone from being a glorious seaside town which was overcrowded with the rich and their purses to being a gloriously notorious town, overcrowded with cutthroats and other people who…"

"Wouldn't need half a thought to cut you open." Finished Jack. "How did you find that lot out Ianto?"

"Well I heard a lot about it whilst doing my errands back in Dalvine."

"That's good. What else can you tell us?"

"The best way to find our contact is by starting a fight."

They paused as they reached the gates, each working through the thought of a fight.

"So boys, who's for a drink?"

-

Ten pubs later, they gave up. Searching out a couple of intact seats and a table, they regrouped and tried to work out where they were going wrong.

"That was one hell of a pub crawl." Jack laughed. "'Stop making eyes at my gal!" He mimicked slicing someone's head off.

"No, I think Owen got the best one 'Stop making eyes at my… My jerry!" Gwen giggled. "You almost had me in stitches."

"I do try sometimes, although I personally think that Ianto's 'Are you calling me a dwarf?' to that troll was the best."

"Maybe, but Owen really, you nearly had me in stitches. You have to be careful with that new weapon of yours- It's sharper than your old stick and has blades at both ends."

"Oh, sorry for killing the buggers who would have had you dead then."

There was a pause.

"Erm, I'm just going to pop out to get some supplies."

"Oh, okay, don't get killed." Ianto smiled.

"That's unlikely. This is my sort of town."

Silence fell a the door shut after Ianto.

"I'll get a round shall I?"

-

Up in the Hub:

"On the right, on the right!" A scuffling broke the dark silence of the hub, and there was a pssst as something was sprayed, and a shriek. "The OTHER right!" pssst. "Thank you."

"So where's Gwen?" There was a return to silence as a torch flicked on an waved around a bit, jumping efficiently from one spot to another, before turning off again.

"Right, we can't get to Gwen straight away, there's a couple of more important things we need to sort out first. So here's what we're going to do…


End file.
